Road House

By David Kronke

One of those movies that helped usher out the era of action films that
had plots that made any sense (and also helped reverse the direction of
Patrick Swayze's career arc), Road House concerns a handsome,
existential bouncer in a rinky-dink honky-tonk who owns both a degree in
philosophy and a Mercedes. And that's perhaps the most believable aspect
of the whole movie. Swayze stars as Dalton, "the best bouncer in the
business," who runs afoul of Wesley (Ben Gazzara), the meanest SOB
round these parts, by taking up with his former girlfriend, Doc (Kelly
Lynch)--the only woman in town with an IQ approaching double digits, even
if she had unfathomably hooked up with such a lowlife. Swayze had
complained about being typecast as beefcake when this was made, but that
didn't stop him from revealing as much skin as possible--even guys like
him, as revealed in a luridly seedy scene in which one of Wesley's goons
tells Dalton that he reminds him of the kind of boyfriend he had in prison
(albeit in much saltier terms). It's so insulting to its audience that
it's nice to be able to turn the tables and laugh at the filmmakers.